Drought fear for Games water supply

The Government announced yesterday that London and the South-East are already officially in drought after the driest two years for 90 years.

In extreme circumstances, standpipes could be put up in the streets to limit water usage, though Environment Agency chiefs have played down the possibility.

A hosepipe ban and other restrictions are far more likely unless there is significant rainfall in the next few weeks.

A London 2012 spokesman said: 'We work closely with our water provider Thames Water and the Government on contingency plans for the Games and these are well developed.

"The Olympic Park itself has been designed to be as sustainable as possible, reducing reliance on tap water by more than 40 per cent. During the Games we will be encouraging staff, spectators and everyone else taking part to do their best to help set the highest possible sustainability standards."

Environment minister Richard Benyon stressed that one in four Londoners was not expected to be in the capital during the Games, which would ease pressure on the water supply.

"The demand for water from the Olympic sites will also be reduced by the use of non-potable sources for irrigation and cleaning," he said.

"Harvesting" will capture water from roofs and car parks and a "blackwater" treatment plant, which produces non-drinkable water from sewage, will be used to flush lavatories in the Olympic Park.

A Thames Water spokesman said: "We will follow our company drought plan agreed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The severity of drought will dictate the level of possible customer restrictions and our activities.

For the Olympic Park, our Old Ford (blackwater) plant covers most non-essential uses of water."

The water company, which has more than eight million customers, is urging people to save water by taking shorter showers, turning the tap off when brushing teeth, putting a bowl in the sink when washing dishes, fully loading washing machines and checking for leaks in taps and pipes.

Experts are predicting a drought this summer to rival 1976. Flows in the river Lee, running from Hertfordshire into north-east London, are just 24 per cent of their average, while those in the Kennet in Wiltshire are at just 33 per cent.